Athena - A short history

Athena has a long and varied history in the stories of the gods. She appears many times in fights, as she is the goddess of warfare and wisdom. 


She was also known as the goddess of handcrafts. One such story describes a girl, Arachne. She too could make fantastic knitting work, and boasted that it could better Athena's. This angered Athena, who came down in disguise. After words were discussed, Athena showed her true form, and the two had a weave off. The two works were equal, which angered Athena. She then beat the poor girl out of anger. The girl tried to kill herself, but Athena would not let her. She instead made her into a spider, allowing her talent to live on forever.


Athena also had a famous tif with Poseidon. He and Athena both wanted the city of Attica. So the city wanted to see who could give the best gift. Athena planted an olive tree. The remaining gods were asked to vote. There was a tie, so the leader of the city was asked to also vote. He chose Athena, and the city was known as Athens.


It was also because of this tif that Medusa became so ugly. Poseidon seduced her in Athena's temple, and in turn Athena cursed her to turn any living man she looked at to stone.      


She, however, had no sexual relationships or lovers, as she was famously a virgin her whole life. This is as she was cursed.  


A motif is a symbol or pattern with a meaning. Many motifs and company logos today derive their symbol and interpretation from greek mythology, including the myth of athena.


The use of the image of Athena has constantly evolved and changed, as different cultures interpreted her and her story in different ways to derive different themes and meanings.

The Seal of Athens
Source: Click

The City of Athens

One of the earlier interpretations of her was her name being used as the inspirations for the city of Athens, in Greece. They believed her to be a strong protector and goddess of the town. It was named Athens over 3,400 years ago.


The story goes that she defeated Poseidon, and gained control of the city.  

Statue for the city
of Athens. Image
from Wikipedia.

During this time period, she represented strength and protection. She was recreated to appear strong and brave, often tall with long spears and big shields, in many statues and paintings around the period. One of the more famous produced was a statue for the city of athens.


In Roman History

A statue from the Roman city from the
1700's.
Sourced from Wikipedia.

In Roman history Athena is also represented, however she is known as Minerva. This is because they had their own set of mythology. However it borrowed heavily from greek culture. The story in roman history is similar to that in greek. 


To the Romans she was equally important, and was the god of medicine, poetry, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts and magic. They also say she invented music.


She was still seen as a fierce war god, however the image commonly painted of her showed a lot less armour and more cloth. Weapons still remained, however she was seen a lot more as a symbol of knowledge.


She was often represented with an owl, which was a sacred creature for wisdom.


The Middle ages / Renaissance


During the middle ages, polytheism was in decline as the romans were overthrown, and christianity replaced it. This removed a lot of the greek mythology references from cultures. Athena, however did remain as a symbol of wisdom and good judgement. 

"Athena and Hermes" 1578
Source: click

This was the first time a lot of the qualities that had run along her image through cultures were diminished. Her heroism and strength still remained however. 

During the renaissance, her image took on a greater amount of meaning, as she was seen as a god of art and human endeavour; the renaissance in a nut shell. 

The painting to the right depicts her;  a shield and a spear still remain, as they have through every reiteration of her image for different periods respective meanings.

Current day reiterations / Pop culture.

"Athena"
Source

As for her current day meaning of Athena, she remains a symbol of strength and knowledge. She has been represented in a number of pop culture films and series. Famously in Japanese manga cartoons, she is the protagonist in a series.


Last year a movie about her appeared in Korean popular culture, called Athena: God of war. It was a modern film, focusing around firepower and fighting. The plot is unknown ( I could not find it) 


Her image as a fierce was god, however, still remains her fixture in pop culture.








Sources:
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AthenaMyths.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena
http://www.medeaslair.net/athena.html
http://Google.com (for definitions, image search)
(Links for images appear below links)
http://www.kpoplive.com/2010/08/30/athena-goddess-of-war-unleashes-trailer/